Rivers of Scarlet
by HaloFin17
Summary: Tauriel dies with Kili at Ravenhill, and as Legolas grieves for her, there is only one to comfort him. AU for BoFA, oneshot. Enjoy!


**Summary: **Tauriel dies with Kili at Ravenhill, and as Legolas grieves for her, there is only one to comfort him. AU for BoFA, oneshot. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **Frankly, I'm running out of creative ways to say it, but I still own nothing, and no profit is made.

**Author's Note: **This, in my opinion, is how the movie should have ended. I don't dislike Tauriel altogether, but I found her more tolerable when I thought she and Kili were going to die together. Would've given the audience an Elven casualty to mourn, since they obviously couldn't kill off Legolas or Thranduil. But since they let Tauriel live, I now fail to understand why her expendable character was even invented in the first place. It seems all she did was consistently cast a bad light on Thranduil and drive a wedge in between him and Legolas. And it's not as though we needed her there to make Kili's death sadder somehow; he was perfectly loveable and lamentable all on his own! Okay, sorry, that's enough venting on my part now. Hope you enjoy!

**Rivers of Scarlet**

Bolg was dead, but it made no difference. No vengeance, however fierce, would restore life to the Elf maiden whose blood now ran mingled with her auburn tresses – a true river of red. She had fallen poorly after grappling with the Orc chieftain high above, splitting her head wide open on the unforgiving rocks below. Death must have taken her instantly, without any suffering.

At least, that's what Legolas told himself as he stared down at her corpse with unblinking eyes. What had Tauriel expected to happen when she hurled Bolg and herself off of that precipice? Had the Dwarf's death driven her all but mad in the extent of her grief? She had known him for so short a time. Could she not remember that there remained other causes, other people, for which to live? Had she believed no one would mourn for her, banished as she was?

Legolas had ever been her friend. Early on, she had been as a sister to him; but as she'd grown, he had come to look on her with eyes that desired something more than friendship. There had even been times when he would have sworn she felt the same; only now did the Elven warrior realize he had been mistaken all along. In the end, a common Dwarf had touched Tauriel's heart in a way her own Prince never could.

The tears finally came as Legolas sank slowly to his knees beside the one who had been his constant companion for six centuries. He longed to gather her body into his arms, to press a tender kiss against her lifeless cheeks…but he could not. Not when her head lay cracked open in front of him, and her face was so disfigured that even he could scarcely recognize her. His tears fell faster now, landing like rain on that terrible scarlet river of blood and hair. Surely he had not wept like this since the death of his own mother, many years ago.

Without warning, a cool hand came to rest on the back of his neck. The Prince's breath caught in his throat at the sudden contact, though he did not react further. That he had heard nothing of the other's approach meant it could only be one person.

His father stood above him now, cold blue eyes taking in the carnage before them. If he felt any remorse over Tauriel's death, King Thranduil concealed the fact far better than his child.

After a long pause, the older Elf spoke softly into the stillness. "Perhaps it is best this way. Her spirit might have faded in its sorrow, and she would have had no true home to turn to."

"What?" Legolas blinked around his tears, taken aback. "You mean you would not have retracted her banishment?"

Thranduil's voice remained eerily calm. "She openly defied my orders, leading my only son and heir into danger along with her; and when she returned, she pointed an arrow at her King's head. In what realm would these crimes not be punishable by banishment, if not by death?"

The Prince would never agree to it out loud, but as usual, his sire's judgment was sound.

"And do you truly believe she would have faded, if she had survived while the Dwarf did not?"

"I cannot say for certain. I could never have given my blessing to her affections for him, but they were real enough in her own mind that she would have suffered greatly in the wake of his passing."

"Does it ever go away, Adar? The pain?"

And suddenly, the conversation was no longer about Tauriel and her Dwarf. Thranduil hesitated in his reply, no doubt sensing the subtle shift himself; but of all the Elves in the Greenwood, he could answer honestly.

"No. It does not. Time may lessen the sting of loss, but the grief will never depart in full."

The King at last knelt down and took hold of Legolas' drooping chin in one hand, forcing their eyes to meet. For once, Thranduil made no attempt to hide his own grief from his son – a grief much older but still stronger than what Legolas felt at present. His hand then moved to cradle the younger's face in a rare display of affection.

"You are fortunate that you were only bonded to her mentally and emotionally, _ion-nin_. Spiritual and physical bonds feel the deprivation of love even more keenly."

His words stirred up a fresh wave of tears; and while that was certainly not what Legolas had wanted to hear, perhaps the poignant reminder was what he had needed. He shamelessly dropped his gaze.

"Tauriel and the Dwarf should be buried together – or at least, near to one another. I think they both would have wanted it so."

Thranduil offered a solemn nod before rising to his feet. "That I will permit, if his kin will do the same. Now come, Legolas." Although spoken quietly, the command could not be ignored. "It has been a day of grief for all, and your people will need their Prince."

The understanding went unspoken that father and son would need each other's support in the days to come, as well.

**Have a safe and happy New Year, everyone! Thanks for reading!**


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